MADISON, Wis., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. physicists say they've developed a method that might allow them to "see" the hidden shapes of alternate dimensions in the universe.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists say their research demonstrates the shapes of extra dimensions can be "seen" by deciphering their influence on cosmic energy released by the violent birth of the universe 13 billion years ago.
The existence of such elusive extra dimensions is a critical, but as yet unproven, element of string theory -- the leading contender for a unified "theory of everything."
In addition to our four familiar dimensions, string theory predicts the existence of six extra spatial dimensions, "hidden" dimensions, curled in tiny geometric shapes at every single point in our universe.
Don't worry if you can't picture a 10-dimensional world. Our minds are accustomed to only three spatial dimensions and lack a frame of reference for the other six, says UW-Madison physicist Gary Shiu, who led the new study. Although scientists use computers to visualize what the six-dimensional geometries could look like, no one really knows what shape they take.
The research appears in the journal Physical Review Letters.
